The Complete Cheapskate Guide to the Universe

This week i have been a good cheapskate. I went shopping for so many things, and i mean serious comparisons all across Singapore. I went shopping for a complete corporate suit, for a pair of loafers, for ties, for long sleeve shirts, a financial advisor and a religion.

Some are now frowning on my last statement.

'What? Shopping for a religion? Sacrilege!'

Wait la... Let me explain.

First, let me define shopping. Shopping to me means to nose around, understand the specifications, the value and the level of appreciation that i have of an item or a person or a philosophy, and eventually buy that item or a person's ideas or beliefs, with money or with my heart or both .

As you can see, my shopping is alot about understanding, not just about spending in monetary terms. The thing is, everything that i do i'll always look for the best deal - the one that suits me best; and the most economical, should there be an involvement of monetary terms - a typical Cheapskate!

I read a book shortly after my Basic Military Training. It is called the 'Complete Idiot's Guide to being a Cheapskate'. It played a seminal role in my financial education. In the book there are two pull out reference cards detailing everything that we need to know about being a successful cheapskate:

Characteristics of the Successful Cheapskate:

They -
1. Value their relationships with people more than money
2. Continually educate themselves about personal finances
3. Are creative and resourceful when it comes to saving
4. Are organised in their saving approach
5. Ask alot of questions to make sure they understand everything and are never afraid to ask for a discount.
6. Avoid excessive amounts of debt
7. Always shop around, and around, and around
8. Have the discipline to say 'no' to a bad deal
9. Have the willpower to delay purchases they don't need
10. Save and invest on a regular basis
11. Have powerful, written plans of action to achieve their financial dreams
12. Respect everyone they have dealings with
13. When they can, buy used instead of new
14. Understand the basics of the investment markets.

Top Twenty Biggest Wastes of Money

1. Buying lottery tickets and entering sweepstakes
2. Purchasing a new car every two years
3. Investing in whole life insurance, commodities, options, land in Transylvania, or anything else you are clusless about.
4. Buying Investment Linked Plans
5. Purchasing extended warranties on appliances and electronics
6. Taking action on a 'hot' stock tip
7. Lending money to friends
8. Shopping on Home Shopping Channel
9. Getting suckered into 'get rich quick' opportunities
10. Paying fees on your checking account
11. Using credit cards like a regular loan
12. Buying name brands on a regular basis
13. Keeping money in low-interest savings accounts
14. Buying anything at convenience stores
15. The car dealer extras
16. Shoping at ritzy retail and grocery outlets
17. Paying an annual fee on a credit card
18. Eating at upscale restaurants.
19. Paying for seasonal tickets for football games.
20. Falling ill frequently.

Those highlighted in bold are the reasons behind my motivation to shop around, and around, for good deals, inclusive of finding my faith. Simply because i will never commit to something that i'm clueless about, and i'll always ask questions and seek for clarification before buying or accepting anything.

While it is true that the experience or relationship that pious individuals have with their Higher Order Being is something that is unique and usually inexplicable, forming the basis of faith for many individuals, i firmly believe that we humans, gifted with logic, should do better than to submit to emotional exhortations as a basis for taking actions. That simple gift is something that we have been practicing everyday; when we are teaching our kids, shopping for retail goods, investing in the stock market and when we are closing a deal for our company. So why should we exclude logic while searching for a belief upon which we ground our thoughts and behaviours on? Like what Stephen Covey has mentioned in his book - 7 habits of highly effective people: 'There is a difference between stimulus and response, and that is our choice of response.' We can choose to be proactive - make things happen [like actively seeking to understand], or we choose to be reactive - wait for things to happen [wait for a miracle or an experience]. This significant difference between stimulus and response will decide our degrees of success in life and our destinies.

'But you can't know everything,' said some of my pious friends, 'just open up your heart and you will feel the strength of the Lord.'

Agree. I cannot know everything, but at least i can begin by knowing something. Experience or emotions should not precede understanding. Why? Because one has to first know that he has to open up his heart to Him. That simple knowing itself precedes the feeling of His strength. With understanding will come experience.

Some will say that i question too much. Knowledge makes one proud; knowledge is a sin. Well, they are mistakened! The more i know, the more i know what i don't know, and know what i never thought i knew. The more i know, the more humble i need to be cos there are still so many things that i don't know. When knowledge is a sin, and when one ceases to seek knowledge, one becomes ignorant and credulous; and when combined with our inherent human pride, we become arrogant, and that to the detriment of all. How do people make a giant kiling on the stocks market? Why, there are credulous [people who don't know what they don't know] and arrogant [people who thought they know all] stock holders out there, playing the stocks up and down, day-in day-out. It is because of them that those who are savvy made their bucks.

When you are disciplined and are always seeking to know and learn more, you will save more time and money, and of course, more months on your life span as you are distressed less often. This is the same everywhere, including religions. When you understand the fundamental philosophy that guides a particular religion [eg. its views of the existence of a Creator/Creation and an End to it all]; how it views another religion; and how it regards thorny issues such as homosexuality, you will stay true to that faith for a longer period of time, even a lifetime. The experiences will then follow suit because your heart and mind are opened. Religion, afterall, is a relationship between you and a set of beliefs that transcends human intelligence or strengths. Before that relationship can blossom, one must first know what sets of beliefs to associate with.

When you strive to be a good cheapskate, you will have a worldview that will allow you to be so much happier, wealthier and healthier; spiritually, monetarily, physically, emotionally and mentally. Aren't these five universal aspects of human endeavours most everything that we own and strive to improve in our lives? Being a cheapskate does not, however, mean being a miser; it means shopping to save time, efforts and money long term so that they can be translated into something more beneficial - spend time and money on family, education, charity etc.

Here's the Vaga-bond caveat:

'Though cheapskates save on money and time over the long term, they are never stingy on building quality relationships and knowledge with what they have saved.' Now, that's a true blue cheapskate.